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Chemical Pollution

Troubled Waters

Chemical pollution used to be a much more insidious problem in trout streams all across America, and while it still persists, the sources today are different than they were in the past, when most of the chemicals entering rivers and streams were directly discharged from factories and industrial sites. Today, the chemicals turning up in are waters are often associated with the oil and gas industry, and come from activities like “fracking”—the process used by the industry that opens up fissures in shale formations and allows oil and gas to escape and be pumped to the surface. Other sources of pollution are long-standing—like drainage from long-abandoned mines. Still others occur from accidental spills and runoff from large parking lots and urban streets. No matter—chemical pollution remains a problem simply because trout need cold, clean water in which to live. TU works with our volunteers on the ground, and in the halls of Congress, to ensure our trout waters stay cold and clean or to clean up past mistakes and make water hospitable to fish—and anglers—once again.